Halpert
by The Uninspired
Summary: Only two of the Halpert siblings resembled each other. Now no longer a one-shot!
1. Chapter 1

**[author note] **Don't worry, don't worry. For all of you who actually read Jellybeans and Yogurt, I'm working on a new chapter now. So don't worry.

Anyway, this one's based on Jim (of course, I love him dearly) and his family. No, no romance or anything, sorry. But family love is awesome? **[/author note]**

* * *

Gerry Halpert was the prankster of his high school class. Girls were either disgusted by some of his pranks (his most known was had to be the 'accidental' stink bomb in the girls' locker room) or completely in awe that he was a different kind of rebel. Eventually, he attracted the girl of his dreams, a beauty named Betsy with just a very faint French accent. When they got married, Gerry noticed the French accent had vanished.

They had four children: Thomas, James, Peter, and Larisa.

James Duncan Halpert was born October 1, 1979, two years and a few months after his older brother. He immediately adopted the nickname "Jim", and was only referred to as James when he was in trouble (which he often was). He was also immediately a target for his older brother's pranks.

Gerry Halpert felt he did his firstborn a favor when he taught him about pranks; Betsy Halpert thought that it was more of a crime against his other children.

But Jim ended up being the mastermind. Even at age three, when Betsy was pregnant with Pete, Jim was pulling classic pranks that were totally unexpected against both Tom and Gerry – the bucket above the door (how did he even get that up there?), the spilling salt-shaker, and his personal favorite, the pen stuck in gelatin.

It all changed when Peter was born. Jim would always remember that day. But since he didn't understand most of it, it was just getting pulled out of bed at 3 in the morning, getting shoved into the car by his grandfather, sitting anxiously and surprisingly silently next to Tom as they drove to the hospital, his mother looking very pained in the front seat and his father nervously rubbing his thumb in circles over the back of her hand, while Grandpa drove. The two Halpert children sat in the waiting room of the maternity ward with their grandfather, stone silent. Jim wasn't old enough to understand, and neither Tom nor his grandfather would answer any questions, but he knew enough not to wreak havoc, even though his mind stayed occupied by thinking of pranks.

After a very long time waiting (in which his parents were later surprised he could even stay awake the whole time), Jim, Tom, and their grandfather were called into a hospital room, where their mother sat, looking tired and weak but beaming all the same. Their father had run off to the bathroom – he had been holding it for 19 hours. In Betsy's arm, there was a mass of blankets, flailing limbs, and dark hair.

A few days later, Jim found out that that writhing mass was his younger brother, Pete.

Pete and Tom got along obviously well. From the start, Tom was almost always with Pete, supervised by their mother. Gerry found it highly amusing that his son, Tom, who had been a 'tough guy' right from the beginning, was taking an interest in a _baby._ Jim liked Pete well enough, but as his little brother grew older, the resentment grew. Jim was a calm fellow, though, even for a toddler, and always kept his frustration at his brothers well controlled.

While Pete and Tom were having quality time, Jim and Gerry were talking about pranks.

They were an early passion for Jim. They were the only good-natured way to get Tom back for the chaos that reigned through his life from an early age. Betsy always disapproved of how much their father spurred them on to continue pranking poor, mostly-innocent people, but secretly she loved how creative they got with them.

He was five at the time when Betsy was pregnant with her fourth and last child, and had just started kindergarten. The Halpert parents got quite a number of phone calls from parents, saying that Jim got several pencils stuck in the ceiling on purpose, or that Tom had dunked a kid in a toilet. Gerry got well acquainted with their teachers, and not in a good way.

Then, Larisa was born.

At that time, Jim had a very vague idea of how babies were made, and at least understood what was going on with his mom during the nine months prior to Larisa. When she was born, he recalled more than what he did with Pete. Tom was seven, Pete was two.

It wasn't in the dead of night, but on a school day. Jim was in the middle of finishing up an addition problem on the board when he was called to the office for dismissal. Jim went to the office with his things, utterly confused. Gerry just about ran to the car, son in tow, where he jumped in to find Pete and Tom, both dead silent with unreadable expressions. When they asked their father where they were going, he replied with a shaky voice, "Your mother's having a baby."

They didn't ask questions for the rest of the ride.

This time in the waiting room, their grandfather wasn't there. Only a nurse would occasionally check in on them, but they all stayed silent and still. Jim even watched the news for a while. It was all mind-numbingly boring, but unlike usual, Pete and Tom didn't seem to mind.

And then the nurse called the three brothers into a room. Jim was the first to jump up, and was the one who lead his brothers to see their new sibling.

This time when Jim came in, he saw that his mother was grinning even wider than when Pete was born. His father was in the bathroom again (he really was not good at coordinating with his bladder). This time, the writhing mass of blankets and limbs was calm and still, and not in its mother's arms, but in a plastic box-thing on wheels.

Larisa was the first Halpert sibling to actually resemble one of them. Tom had brown hair so pale it looked blonde with brown eyes, and Pete had brown hair as well, but such a dark shade that it almost looked black with green eyes. Jim and Larisa both had messy brown hair a nice, medium shade of brown just barely touched with blonde, and green/brown/gray eyes. Until Larisa was born, none of them looked like they were related at all, save for their ears, which people always commented on. ("God, they all look completely unrelated except for their ears! Seriously, did they always stick out like that, or did Gerry give you all some good tugs on them?")

Jim always liked Larisa better. She didn't need to be introduced to pranks by her father – Jim took care of that. Even as an infant, she helped Jim with his pranks, with simple tasks such as tripping Tom so he landed with his face in a bowl of Jell-O, or just dripping spit on Pete's face.

All her brothers were protective of her, especially Jim, and made sure she knew what she was doing all through school. While Tom, Jim, and Pete all got averages grades, or slightly even higher, Larisa always blew her teacher's expectations out of water (since all her brothers had experience with at least one of her teachers).

And she was a huge impact on Jim's life. It was a relationship he just couldn't describe, but somehow, she just made him happy. She was and will always be one of his best friends. She taught him responsibility. She listened when no one else did. And he made sure that she didn't grow up to be a female Pete.

Then came the dating age.

Larisa liked a guy. She was in sixth grade, Tom was in college (but home for a break), Jim was a junior, and Pete was in eighth grade. She was paired up with him for a science project, and they got really close in those months that they spent together. This boy's name was John. Jim and Tom knew his brother, who was notorious for getting a new girlfriend every month or so. Naturally, the two eldest siblings were wary, while Pete did what they asked him too and kept an eye on this 'John' character at school.

Eventually, this John asked Larisa out. She gleefully accepted, and that was all she talked to Jim about for a long time. Jim always warned her to keep careful around him, and all those safety things, and she listened, but her older brother always knew she wouldn't take his tips.

There was a knock on the door.

"Jim, get that!" his mother shouted from the other room. Without a word, Jim skidded over to the door in his socks and opened the door.

"Hi, is Larisa there?" the boy asked. He only went up to Jim's chest, his dark hair slicked back with way too much gel and a huge smile on his face. Jim paused a moment, taking in his appearance, before saying, "Sure. And you must be John."

"I am," the boy confirmed as Jim walked off.

"Oy, Rissa!" Jim shouted down the hallway where his sister's room was. She burst out of it, dressed as fancily as ever, hair pinned up in an elegant bun with her curls hanging out of it.

"Do I look okay?" she asked nervously, brushing imaginary dust off her dress and twirling in a circle. Jim just smirked, folding his arms over his chest.

"I think it'd be narcissistic if I said yes, considering how much you look like me."

Larisa just snorted and brushed past Jim, but didn't reply. That was definitely a huge smile on her face, though.

As the young couple left, with Jim leaning against the doorframe watching them, he heard a bit of their conversation:

"Your brother looks a lot like you…except taller, and male."

Larisa just smiled.

"I know."

The relationship ended lasting months, and the months turned into years. Jim left for college, and then Pete left for college, but Larisa remained at home with her aging parents, still getting through high school. She kept all her siblings posted, Jim especially.

One night, Jim was woken up at two in the morning to his sister's cracking voice on the phone.

"Jim…it's over…"

"Rissa?" he asked, concerned, sitting up in his bed. His roommate grumbled and put a pillow over his head. "Are you okay?" Jim started to move into the dorm hall.

"I don't think I am," she said, her voice dropping.

And they talked for hours into the night, so long that Jim fell asleep when his roommate woke up in the morning. Luckily, it was a Saturday, and he didn't have to work that day. It turns out that John met a girl, one of the girls who wore tight, revealing clothes and way too much make up, and John left Larisa for that girl. Jim reassured her that she was better than him, and he definitely did not deserve her.

Larisa refused to date any other boy the even remotely resembled John after that.

At the next winter break, when all of the Halpert brothers came home for two weeks, it was like a big party. Pranks were ranging from prank calls (Pete called Larisa from a payphone, but very expertly disguised his voice) to filling each other's beds with snow (Tom, and Jim didn't sleep well that night) to putting an entire suitcase in Jell-O (Tom was not amused to find Jim roaring with laughter at his yelp of outrage).

Needless to say, the Halpert family remains close. The parents are a bit out of the loop, but the children are all in fine tune of what's happening in each other's lives.


	2. Chapter 2

**[author's note]** oh, haha, look! I'm actually making this a not-one-short, due to some convincing on a reviewers part. Anyway, since I am really uncreative, the ideas for these chapters come from The27thGilmore, with a bit of changing from me so it all makes sense. And this one's about 1,200 words shorter than the first chapter. Just so you know.

I don't own the Office, sadly enough. I used to own a Support the Rabid wristband, but my kitten lost it. :( **[/author's note]**

* * *

Jim had graduated from college, and was now living in an apartment in Scranton with his good friend from high school, Mark. Tom was somewhere in Boston, being amazing at his job with his new girlfriend. Pete was in his sophomore year of college and Larisa was a senior in high school.

And Jim started the job hunt.

He didn't know what he wanted to do or where he wanted to work, despite his mother's warnings all through high school. He decided to loiter around his parents' house for a good while to spend some quality time with them and his little sister, using their internet and his laptop to browse through his listings.

Somehow, in that time he spent at his parents' house, John managed to loop Larisa back into a relationship.

Jim was shell-shocked, but after being sat on by Larisa for a good two hours, he was convinced not to tell his brothers. Gerry and Betsy were both well aware that John was spending more and more time in their house. But Jim managed to get over the shock (eventually, and he couldn't help but glare at the little runt whenever he was in the Halpert family headquarters), and started to apply to jobs.

He started out easy. There was a sales position open at a midsized paper company called Dunder Mifflin. The pay was enough to keep him living on his own with a bit of extra spending money, and an okay health plan, and he definitely qualified. Jim sent in his resume, and continued with his job hunt for other jobs. The others he applied to were much better than the paper company job, but he would have to work hard to prove himself.

But to his surprise, his phone went off at eight in the morning the next day.

"'Ullo?" he answered, still groggy from being woken up at what was considered early after graduating college.

"This is Jim Halpert, correct?" the soft female voice on the other end answered. Jim cleared his throat and sat up in bed, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, that's me," he replied.

"This is a returning call from Dun-, oh hold on." Her voice got distant. "Michael, no, that does not go in the coffee machine!"

"Hey, are you calling that new guy?" another voice asked from afar, sounding ecstatic. "Does he have a sexy voice?"

"Do you expect me to answer that?" the female voice asked. The male voice got closer.

"I wanna talk to him!"

"Michael, get- no, this is my job-"

"Well, I'm your boss! Gimme the phone!" Obvious signs of physical struggle were heard. Jim was confused.

"Uhm...?"

Finally, the noises died off and the female voice returned, though sounding thoroughly more annoyed. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't worry," Jim replied, amused. "I'm sure many offices have bosses that fight over phones with their employees."

The girl laughed, and it was a very lovely laugh.

"Well, luckily this doesn't happen often. Anyway, like I was saying, I'm calling from Dunder Mifflin, and we'd love to schedule an interview with you."

"Oh, that's great!" Jim replied, resisting a yawn.

"Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?"

"Besides hunting for extra jobs, no."

"Well, would you like to come in then?"

"That'd be great! Is noon alright?"

"Noon's fine. See you then, alright?"

"Alright."

And they both hung up at the same time.

The next day at noon, Jim swung by his parents' house to borrow one of his old flannel ties ("God, Jim, you look like a hobo.") and then jumped in his car and drove off, heading down the road that would become one of the most familiar roads to him in the near future. He actually drove past it at first, but pulled a U-turn quickly after missing it. He arrived at the office fashionably late.

Jim opened the door to Suite 200, Dunder Mifflin, The receptionist, a brunette with hair so curly it was just about frizzy, smiled up at him as he approached the desk.

"Jim Halpert?"

"That's me," he replied, leaning against the desktop and eying the jellybeans.

"You can take one if you want. And I'm Pam, you spoke to me on the phone this morning."

Through a mouthful of jellybeans, Jim grinned.

"Good to meet you. I only have one question: How do you feel about pranks?"

The first thing Jim noticed on Pam's tour was that the office was nearly empty. The receptionist informed him that the office's crazy manager, Michael, had taken the sales team and customer relations employees to Lake Scranton for some reason, leaving reception, accounting, and HR stuck in the office until 5PM. Jim spent the day ruffling through the office for potential pranks, and Pam helped him enthusiastically.

That night, Jim returned to his parents' house at a bit past five, exhausted and grinning. Larisa cornered him even before him mom did, and drove him into his old room.

"God, Risa, you couldn't just ask me to come with you?" he asked, with a faint tint of feigned annoyance. She looked at him with a somber, serious look in her eyes. His face fell. "Risa?" he asked, more quietly.

"Jim...I think I'm pregnant."

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**[author's note] **CLIFF HANGER **[/author's note]**


	3. Chapter 3

**[author's note]** Hey look! Another chapter! I'm sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter, and I'm sorry about the wait, but these things can't be rushed, ya know? Anyway, this week is SPRING BREAK for me, so I'll have a chance to get more into this. And I have big plans for this story. Expect to see Cecelia somewhere in the next...three or four chapter. And heck yes. There will be at least three. I think. Unless I can't do math.

Ah well. I've never been a math/science person. I've always been an English/history person. **[/author's note]**

* * *

She watched nervously as every single muscle in his body tensed up. His only movements were the jumping muscle in his jaw and his breathing. But Jim couldn't possibly abandon her...could he?

He was still in trying to get that one sentence to sink in. Larisa. _His_ Larisa. The little sister he spent years caring for and protecting. Knocked up at age 18.

"Larisa."

"Jim, please."

"How could you let this happen?" Involuntarily, his hands grabbed her shoulders. She didn't seem to notice, staring into his eyes.

"I-I don't even know," she managed, shifting her gaze to the floor, the wall, anything but his face. He released her shoulders (had he really been holding on that tight?) and fell backwards onto the bed, hands falling over his eyes.

"Are you planning on telling Tom and Pete?"

"After I get over the shock myself."

"And what about school?"

"Mom's going to home-school me."

Betsy Halpert had, at one point, been a 12th grade AP English teacher, but retired from teaching when she got sick of dealing with the students. She still had a teaching license from the state, however.

"She suggested this?"

"Yes."

Jim let out a heavy sigh, his mind still working furiously. He felt the bed shift as Larisa sat down next to him, but he didn't take his hands away from his eyes.

"Due date?"

"Haven't gotten one yet. Or at least, Mom didn't tell me. Most likely June, though."

"Well, lucky for you, I'll still be in Scranton in June," Jim said quietly, standing up and crossing the room before Larisa could even reply. She looked at him, watching him closely.

"Does this mean I have your support?"

Instead of answering, Jim asked, "Is it John's?"

Larisa nodded slowly.

"I'm gonna punch him in the face the next time I see him," Jim said, and closed the door behind him before she could object.

The months whizzed by fast. Jim learned more and more about Pam, coming to love and appreciate her excellent and sometimes awkward sense of humor. The one thing he didn't love, however, was her fiancé, Roy. He never seemed to even care remotely about Pam, and was always coming in to say he was going drinking with the warehouse guys. Jim always wondered how often Roy came into work hung over or still drunk, but never ever dared to ask. Was that why he felt like he was going to hurl (in a good way) whenever he was around Pam?

It couldn't be, no. And it was more of a 'I'm-so-nervous-my-stomach-is-reacting' type of stomach fluttering rather than the 'what-the hell-is-wrong-with-my-body-oh-God-I'm-gonna-throw-up' type.

And John came around with Larisa one day in January. Jim slugged him, to which his father grinned and his mother shook her head at. Larisa wouldn't leave him alone about it, and John himself took extra care to avoid him whenever possible. When he couldn't avoid him, Jim would just wink at him and walk away.

Jim occasionally took the day off to help Larisa with extra bad morning sickness, or just to help her in general. Their mother kept the workload light and gave her plenty of free time to rest.

Finally, somehow, those other jobs Jim applied to all those months back got back to him, saying they'd love to have him. Jim was startled and his mother said she thought it would be good for him, but something, some_one_, was making him want to keep his deadbeat job at Dunder Mifflin. Sure, it was boring, but getting paid to do nothing was better than getting paid to work your butt of and have no social life.

He declined. The friendships at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch were too good to disconnect. This included Jim's prankage on Dwight and Michael's tendency to be somewhat annoying, especially since that camera came to start documenting them.

On the last Saturday in May, Jim was sitting on his parents' back porch, enjoying the lovely temperature and scenery. His sister came and sat down in the lawn chair next to him. Jim looked over at her, amused.

"I was just going to leave, you know."

"I hate you," she replied, but her smile gave away her true feelings. One hand was rested on her belly, which was extremely swollen. The last time Pete came to visit (which had been a week prior to this moment), he said that she looked about ready to explode. The due date was coming, and faster than they could expect.

Jim went to work the following Monday, a day in June, with a bit of a skip in his step, something Pam didn't not let him know. Whenever she pointed it out, he would simply stop walking and stare at her until she felt uncomfortable. That was the thing with Pam; she could make any situation awkward. And boy, did Jim take advantage of that.

After finishing up some expense reports that day. Jim's phone vibrated. The caller ID read "Mom".

_Of course_, Jim thought, and flipped open his phone, aware of Dwight watching him from the corner of his eye.

"Jim Halpert."

"Jim, come quick." Yes, that was definitely his mom. "We're at Mercy Hospital. Larisa's...Larisa's gone into labor."

* * *

**[author's note]** I'm beginning to think that my dad watching 24 is starting to rub off on me. But their cliffhangers are so much more dramatic. **[/author's note]**


	4. Chapter 4

**[author's note]** Here's another chapter, guys. This one's focused almost entirely on the Halperts, sorry, but I promise the next one will have some office-y goodness. And if you're wondering, this particular chapter starts at...about a month or so after the first season. So the next chapter will be like seasons two and three smashed together, so we can get to the fourth season already.

Again, I don't own anything, blah blah.

* * *

Jim jumped up, ramming his shoulder up to his ear to keep his conversation on the phone going. Swiping his messenger bag off the back of his chair and dashing over to reception, he asked, "How much did I miss?"

"The scramble there and a few centimeters," his mother replied. Jim mouthed to Pam "Family emergency", to which she nodded and wrote something down. Jim just about flew out the door and down the steps, all the while talking to his mother.

"It's about a fifteen minute drive out there," Jim said, more to himself than anyone else. "But with traffic..."

"Please Jim, it's eleven in the morning. At this point, no one's on the road anymore."

Jim breathed a small sigh of relief, throwing his stuff into the backseat of his car and ramming the keys into the ignition.

"And since the highway patrols don't seem to care about Scranton anymore..."

"You should get here in record breaking time," she finished, and Jim grinned. This was only a reminder of how much he loved his mother.

"Tell Larry she'll be fine," Jim said, starting up his car and starting to back up hastily. "I'll be there in five minutes."

Betsy Halpert laughed for the first time that day. "You do that, Mr. Halpert."

Almost as soon as Jim had hit the highway did Pam call him.

"Hey, Jim, what's going on?" she asked, her voice quiet. Jim could hear Michael's voice softly in the distance.

"Oh, my sister's in the hospital."

"Oh my God," Pam breathed, and Jim could help but smile. It was so fun messing with Pam. "Is she alright?"

"I'm hoping. I mean, it's not easy, bringing another life into this world."

Pam let out an exasperated sigh. "Jim."

He laughed, slowing down a bit in his car as he saw a police light flashing in the distance. Apparently he was wrong; the highway patrol did watch over these roads at this hour.

"Pam, I'm sorry, but it was the truth."

"I guess I forgive you, Halpert," Pam said, and Jim could just tell she was shaking her head. Did he really know her that well? That he knew when she made certain, everyday motions that every person made? Was he really falling for her, or was it just his mind playing tricks with him?

"Well, I gotta focus on the road now, Beesly," Jim said, craning his neck to see around a corner. "Talk to you later?"

"Of course. Have fun with your new niece or nephew."

"I will."

He did get there in record breaking time. While parking in the hospital's lot, he managed to park perfectly in the middle of the space (due to his mad parking skills), but almost ran over the curb. He knew how to get to the maternity ward by heart, and none of the employees stopped him as he walked (really fast, nearly running, almost a trot) through the halls, a blur to patients and visitors alike. He got to the ward in time to see his father come out of the delivery room.

"Dad?" Jim approached him, and his father smiled halfheartedly, looking tired. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all, Jim," Gerry replied, clapping his second oldest (but tallest) child on the shoulder. "One just needs a break from having your hand squeezed off."

Jim thought for a second.

"Or you just have to go to the bathroom."

Gerry shrugged. "One can only hold it for so long. And my bladder's not-"

"Dad, please. Just go."

His father grinned and walked off to the men's room. Jim, who couldn't bear to sacrifice his hand since he needed it desperately for work, waited in the designated area. A few other anxious men around his age were sitting there, legs twitching, fidgeting all over, staring off into space. Jim didn't bother sitting, but paced from one edge of the carpeted area to the other.

He had never thought he'd be back here so soon, only 18 years after his precious little sister had been born. He had always figured that the next time he would be here would be with his wife or with Tom/Pete and one of their wives. None of their female cousins lived in Scranton (or anywhere near Scranton; a few of them lived in France and the others lived in Massachusetts), and their only aunt was 10 years older than their mother. But Jim would've sooner expected his aunt to have another child than for his own sister to.

Finally, after agonizing hours of waiting (and watching the other men in the waiting area be called to their wives'/significant others' rooms), a nurse approached Jim. He recognized her as the nurse who had called his brothers and him back to their mother's room after his younger siblings had been born.

"Mr. Halpert?" she asked, her soft voice the same as Jim remembered. "Your sister is waiting to see you."

Unconsciously, Jim's face broke into a huge grin, and he followed the nurse to one of the rooms.

As soon as Jim entered the room, his mother confronted him.

"And where have you been, James?" Betsy asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. Jim was startled, taking a step back.

"W-What do you mean, Mom?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck (which seemed to be burning his shirt collar). "I've been here the whole time."

"In this hospital, yes," she continued, staring him straight in the eye. One of the things Jim took pride in was his ability to always look someone in the eye without wavering, but he had obviously gotten it from his mother, because under her gaze he just had to look away. "But your poor sister over here was worrying about you the entire time."

"Mom," another voice interrupted. "Let it go. I'm fine."

Jim looked over his mother's shoulder to see his sister, smiling but looking extremely exhausted. Jim grinned, striding past his mother and going straight to the side of her bed.

"Risa." He leaned down and they both embraced each other, both with enough force to crush bones. Eventually, they couldn't take having their lungs squeezed like that and pulled away.

"Nicole Sarah Halpert," she said, and Jim didn't even have to ask what she was talking about.

"So I was right."

"You were. She's definitely a girl," Larisa replied with a nod. Jim looked around for a brief moment.

"Where's Mr. John?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Larisa sighed, wrapping a curly hair around her finger.

"Mr. White said he couldn't make it, didn't say why. And since he's obviously not devoted enough to witness the birth of his own child, she's not getting his last name."

Jim scowled. "So you're just letting him let you raise her?"

"Oh, of course not," Larisa said firmly, shaking her head. "He's not escaping this...especially since she is his."

"Remind me to kick him between the legs next time I see him."

They quickly changed the subject after that, and talked for a long while. Jim checked his phone after many hours of having it off, and he had a text message from a certain Pam Beesly. It read:

_Got a call from another company looking for you. Said something about your resume. Are you leaving us?_

Jim stared at the message, frowning. Hadn't he taken down his resume? Without replying, he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He'd talk to about it Pam tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**[author's note] **whoa-ho, it's been a long time since I've updated. But, y'know, a bunch of stuff at school came up and my teachers suddenly like homework, so this doesn't leave me a lot of free time.

But anyway, turns out this fic is going to be much longer than I thought. Yay. So...you guys won't be seeing Cece as soon as I predicted. Sorry.

* * *

Jim came in early to work the next morning. It was quiet without the normal buzz of gossip from Phyllis and Kelly, and the lack of Michael and Dwight arguing actually allowed him to work. But, like any other morning, Pam was there first, along with Oscar.

"Hey there, Mr. Halpert," Pam greeted as he walked into Suite 200. He smiled at her, despite how tired he was. Staying up all night with your sister does that to you. "How's it like being an uncle?"

"Pretty good, pretty good," he replied, his voice strangely quiet. "Just a bit tiring."

"Of course," she said with a knowing nod. "You got my text last night?"

"Yep."

"And you didn't reply?"

"Thought I would tell you in person."

"Tell me what?" She pulled her hands away from her keyboard and crossed it on the desk, looking up at him. She had an innocently curious expression on, and Jim's gaze faltered and he turned to the floor, rubbing the back of his neck (which was suddenly burning, and had nothing to do with the oddly sweltering June temperature).

"I-I honestly have no idea," he stammered, looking up at her with his head still bowed. She was still staring at him. "I don't know how they found this number, but I'm pretty sure I took my resumes down..."

"Don't worry about it, Jim," she said, cutting him off. "I'm sure you're staying here." She paused, looking him straight in the eye. "Correct?"

"Correct, of course," Jim said, a bit too quickly.

As the weeks of the year whipped past, Jim realized he _was_ falling for her, and hard. And it was horrible. She was engaged. To a manly, steak-eating warehouse worker. And here he was, the lanky, clumsy, peanut-butter-jelly salesman who didn't get enough exercise because of his deadbeat job.

Now who would she pick?

Of course, she had picked Roy. Jim didn't like him. Not only because he was stealing who he assumed was the love of his life, he just seemed...insensitive. There was just this air about him...

And yes, Jim had had girlfriends before, but it was more of a social thing, something to waste his down time and new bait for Tom and Pete at the dangerous and rare family dinners he brought a girlfriend to. Often after meeting his brothers (they had no problem with his sister), his girlfriends were a bit wary of Jim and their relationship died. And that just made Jim doubt that any girl would want to date him and deal with his brothers, as well.

And his constant thinking about this started showing. His weekly (more like daily) dinners at his parents' house. He was more unresponsive, and seemed to stare off into space much more. Larisa kept his attention by placing Nicole next to him during dinners, forcing him to pay attention. Larisa sat across from Jim, and John sat next to her. He was always quiet, barely talking while picking at his plate.

And soon, before they even knew it, Nicole's one year birthday was coming up. Jim was starting to spend more and more time just staring outside and barely replying to any conversation attempts at all.

Larisa had been off school this year after 'graduating' from homeschooling. She applied to several colleges near Scranton, and only one got back to her. And she had been accepted. So that meant that next year she was left in the care of her loving grandparents and second oldest uncle.

Right?

Wrong.

Jim suddenly moved a month before Nicole's birthday. He jumped from Scranton to Connecticut, and with nearly no warning. Maybe he had said a word about transferring Dunder Mifflin branches, but that was it.

And he never seemed happy there...or, if you thought about it, the year before that.

One day, in his equally as deadbeat office job (but with an ocean view!), he got an email from a certain Dr. Tom Halpert.

_Yo, Jimbo, you alright? Mom said you moved pretty abruptly. But, y'know what? It's not my business unless you tell me. So I'm just emailing you to say that Mom's doing her routine calls, and you're next._

Jim was glad for the warning. That night, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Luckily, his roommate (a friend from college) was out on the town, and he was alone in the apartment. He didn't even bother checking the caller ID.

"Hey, Mom."

"Ugh, Jim," she said, a sharp tone in her voice. "Did one of your brothers tell you I was going to call?"

Jim just grinned, leaning against a window frame and looking out at the city. "Maybe."

"Tom or Pete?"

"Tom."

His mother let out a frustrated sigh. "Remind me to beat him next time."

Jim laughed, loud in the empty apartment.

"I will, Mom."

There was an awkward pause as Jim cleared his mother gathered her thoughts.

"Jim, is something wrong?"

Jim was caught off-guard. His shoulder slipped off the window frame, but he caught himself before his forehead smacked against the window sill.

"Jim?"

"Sorry Mom," he apologized quickly, "I slipped. W-what was the question?"

"I asked if you were okay." She paused. "Just that proves to me that something is. Spill it."

One of the disadvantages to being close to your mom was that she knew you so well she could tell what all your pauses and stuttering and slip-ups meant. Jim gave a heavy sigh.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No. Stop avoiding me questions."

"Well..."

And Jim went on to explain about Pam, how amazingly wonderful she would be for him, and all of his social awkwardness and that life-changing, heart-tearing kiss that basically ruined his life in Scranton. His mother was silent for a while after he finished pouring his heart out to her.

"...Mom?"

"Yeah, sorry," she said suddenly, her voice sounding tired. "Jim, I can't influence you, because you are an adult and allowed to live your own life, but come back to Scranton. Please. Patch things up with Pam. Maybe you'll still have a shot."

That was his mother, the one who believed that anything believable could happen with enough willpower. He thought the same way most times, but he also got his father's negativity against himself, since he always got discouraged and gave up his willpower. Tom and Pete must've been right when they said that he was weird, and Larisa was right when she called him a peculiar type of guy.

"I...I'll see what I can do, Mom."

Pause.

"I love you, Jim, don't forget that. You were always the sane son of mine, and that's...admirable that you didn't let Tom change you."

Jim was shocked. His mother had never said anything about one of her children being better than others, and here she was admiring him?

"Wow...thanks, Mom. I really appreciate that."

"Anytime, dear. I'll see you on Saturday?"

"Yeah."

The next day, Josh called a meeting. Jan came in, smiled at the office (Jim in particular), and pulled a folded up piece of paper from her pocket.

"The Stamford branch is closing."

Jim felt his expression fall, but said nothing. Jan glanced at him quickly, then away. Was that...sympathy he saw? Was he really so obvious?

"You will be merging with the Scranton branch."

_No. No no no. No. This can't be happening._ Sure, Jim had spoken on the phone with Pam before and they seemed to be on good terms, but he was dating Karen now. He couldn't...no, he couldn't face her. He couldn't face Pam Anderson. Not when he still felt so strongly about her.

"The following employees will be required to go to Scranton, and the employees who's names are not called will be laid off."

As she read the list, Jim closed his eyes, hoping to be the few who would be laid off. But his numbers were too good. He knew they were.

"Karen Filipelli, Jim Halpert..."

When Karen leaned over and smiled at him, Jim forced himself to smile. He felt sick.

Jim's old roommate in Scranton, Mark, said he'd be glad to have Jim in his apartment again (it actually sounded like he missed him), but there was one thing. Mark had finally proposed to his girlfriend, and they were going to move into her apartment. Mark, however, still owned the lease on his apartment, and as soon as he offered it to Jim, he accepted. Mr. Halpert now proudly owned his own apartment.

At the next Halpert dinner that Jim went to, his first in a long time, he immediately noticed something missing. Besides Nicole being in a lower high chair (she was getting big) and said high chair being located next to Larisa, there was a chair missing. Jim frowned and looked over to his sister.

"Where's John?"

Without looking up from her peas, Larisa replied, "What, I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"He left."

* * *

**[author's note] **GASP CLIFF HANGER. (and this would be around the middle of season three. right before the merger episode.) **[/author's note]**


	6. Author's Note

**[author's note]** I SWEAR I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS FIC.

I'm so sorry!

Life got in the way and then my mind got wrapped around other things and I'm extremely forgetful…

But now that it's SUMMER, and I don't have homework anymore, I can finally write this again.

Actually, I started writing the next chapter, but stopped because I got self-conscious.

Again, I'm so so so sorry, guys.

I'll update soon.

Love, Kitty

**[/author's note]**


	7. Chapter 6

**[author's note]** This chapter is so short, and I'm sooo sorry I kept you waiting this long for this pile of crap. But this is just a summary chapter, and it's hard going into depth with a whole bunch of filler episodes. I mean, I love Season Four more than you'll even know, but the only thing it really developed toward the story line was Jim and Pam and a bit of Michael and Jan and Michael's woes and whatnot.

Again, sorry.

I don't own the Office, but if I did, Season Five would've been the end of the show, and then there'd be a movie about how freakin' epic Cecelia Marie Halpert turned out to be and how she doesn't work at a paper company or...something.

* * *

"_What?_" Jim dropped his fork. Larisa kept her gaze down, pushing around some peas with her own utensil. Slowly, Betsy and Gerry pushed their chairs away from the table, took their plates, and backed out of the room. The two siblings and the infant barely noticed. "How could you let him get away? You _said_ you were not going to let that scumbag of a human being-"

"Jim." He stopped abruptly, eyes narrowed. His sister looked up at him, with surprisingly calm eyes strikingly similar to his own. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine with John."

Jim scowled, pushing his plate away from him. "I'm not. Protective older brother, remember?" Larisa's expression didn't change.

"I understand why he left, and I let him leave."

Jim didn't reply.

"Nicole's going to grow up fine, Jim. Don't worry about it."

Her older brother kept his scowl on. "Well, I won't, but if I ever see John again, I'll…well, let's just say I'd better not see him again."

Larisa smiled, squeezing his hand from across the table.

"If he ever contacts me again, I'll deliver the message."

But Jim's life's troubles did not face. He was relieved, _so_ relieved to find out that Pam didn't marry Roy. But…he was dating Karen. At least now his back faced Pam, so he didn't have to deal with facing the woman who brought this stress into his life in the first place.

But then Jan got her implants and started dating Michael, and then she got laid off, and the job interviews started. Jim was a very likely candidate, due to the fact that Karen was his only _real_ competition, and he was already on good terms with David Wallace. But…the yogurt cup lid changed him completely. It signified that he was friends with Pam now, and had a chance…

He couldn't take the job.

He left Karen there and drove back to Scranton, just to ask Pam out. And, with tears in her eyes, she accepted. Jim, his own vision blocked with his own tears of joy, made it back to New York to break up with Karen and check out of his hotel room.

The next two years of his life were the happiest ever.

Nicole was learning to walk and talk, and had already dubbed Jim "Unca". News had broke out that he was dating Pam, something that they tried to keep secret, but they figured they couldn't keep it a secret for long. Jim now carried around an engagement ring in his back pocket, next to his wallet. Then Pam went to art school, and he proposed. _Proposed!_ And they were happily engaged to be married.

And then…Cecelia.

Those nine months waiting were the _worst_, and the best at the same time. Pam and Larisa became virtually best friends during that time, and the former got to see how well Jim did with smaller children. Nicole was now moving around independently, and could string together some sentences. Jim was easily her favorite uncle, as he spent the most time at Larisa's new apartment with his niece, and she actually turned out looking much like her mother, and in turn, Jim. Though the one thing that bothered Jim about her appearance was her eyes. Her father's eyes. But that little squirt brought a lot of joy to his life, and he could only look past that and love her.

At the wedding, Larissa had this hugely important exam at college. Jim wasn't very happy about this, but he assumed passing college with high marks was more important than your brother getting hitched to the woman of his dreams. The wedding passed perfectly, despite being full of errors (such as Dwight hooking up with Isabel, Michael hooking up with Pam's mom, Andy tearing his 'scrote', Jim's slip up that revealed Pam's 'bun in the oven', and the whole deal of the Maid of the Mist). But now they were married, and that was all that mattered.

Then, March 4th, 2010.

Around midday, Larisa received a call from her older brother. "Larisa, drop everything and get to the hospital. Now."


End file.
